Should Republicans go ahead and add Supreme Court Justices to head off Democrats

Baghdad operation already achieving results

AP:

Iraqi police fought pitched battles with insurgents Sunday as thousands of security forces backed by American troops swept through Baghdad's streets to flush out militants responsible for killing more than 720 people since Iraq's new government was announced in April.

Insurgents lashed back - killing at least 30 people, including a British soldier - and a senior U.S. military intelligence official acknowledged there are few indications they "are packing their bags."

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's al-Qaida in Iraq claimed responsibility for nearly all the attacks in Internet statements that could not be independently verified.

In their biggest coup of "Operation Lightning," Iraqi and U.S. soldiers arrested a former general in Saddam Hussein's intelligence service who was also a member of his Fedayeen secret police during a raid in western Baghdad, the scene of some of Sunday's heaviest fighting.

The so called lash back is more than likely a reaction to being discovered, as the former General was. As the Iraqi forces move through the area, the enemy can fight or run, but they cannot ignore the sweep.

...

The first of more than 40,000 soldiers and police, who are being supported by U.S. forces, searched hundreds of vehicles and raided several houses, described as "terrorist dens" in Baghdad's Dora neighborhood, arresting several suspects, army Capt. Ihssan Abdel-Hamza said.

...

"We have fairly aggressive operations that are being run throughout the Baghdad area," said a senior U.S. military intelligence official who asked not to be named for security reasons. "Basically they are going to sweep Baghdad and make sure that the insurgents are run out of the city."

...

Iraqi security forces, who are being supported by U.S. troops, began erecting some of the 675 checkpoints to try to deter assailants around the city and in areas where attacks are frequent, and begin street-to-street sweeps.

...

In the day's biggest battle, about 50 gunmen fired rocket-propelled grenades, mortars and machine guns at a Baghdad police unit in a half-hour battle. The Iraqi forces successfully fought them off, the U.S, military said.

Several minutes later, car bombs exploded at a nearby Amariyah army barracks and an Iraqi military-controlled checkpoint in Abu Ghraib, the focus of a recent Iraqi-U.S. military operation that was the prelude to the current offensive.

About 4 p.m., gunmen attacked Khadra police station during a 15-minute firefight, police Lt. Majid Zaki said.

The operation appears to be taking the initiative away fromthe bombers, who are being forced to react to the government patrols. Note that even in a platoon size operation against Iraqi troops, the enemy was not able to sustain its atacks or defeat the Iraqi forces. This is more evidence of a very weak "insurgency" that cannot standup to any organized resistance.